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There will be no ban on rallies and processions in the capital today, but the situation remains tense as the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP are set to press ahead with their programmes today.

The government used law enforcers to make planned attacks on opposition processions which resulted in the deaths of three opposition activists, claimed BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday.

General Secretary of the ruling Awami League Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said there is a plot to create political tension in the country, which the AL-led 14-party alliance will face with united efforts.

The search committee, formed to recommend names for the posts of election commissioners, yesterday declared that political parties had another two days to give names for five posts in the Election Commission.

Editorial

It is with great shock and disbelief that we must read reports of an announcement by a band of twelve 'Islamic' minded parties that they vehemently oppose the ongoing war crimes trial. They have even threatened to try 'Indian agents' if their demand for stopping the trial were not met.

If people are generally disgruntled with our polity they have every reason to be. Just look at what the Right Honourable Member of the Parliament for Rangpur-1, belonging to JP (E), did at the Rangpur Medical College Hospital the other day. It was neither right, nor, by any definition, honourable. People continue to be surprised by irrational acts of people in position of power.

Sports

Novak Djokovic wore down Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of professional tennis, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 after 5 hours, 53 minutes to claim his third Australian Open title.

Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq on Sunday said he hoped his team's series win over Test cricket's number one side England will earn them respect from the cricketing world after a turbulent period which tarnished their image.

Mohammedan SC's remarkable spending to form a formidable hockey team has seemingly prompted other clubs to increase their budgets ahead of the upcoming inter-club players' transfers, scheduled for February 26-28.

A petty incident took the life of a teenage cricketer on Saturday in Kishoreganj. The boy identified as Nazrul Islam (15), son of Abdur Rahman of Batrish Bilpara area, was hit with a bat by the match umpire Rafiqul Islam (16) during an altercation regarding a decision and succumbed to an internal haemorrhage the following day.

The Pakistani spin duo of Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman were rewarded for their match-winning efforts against the world's number one-ranked Test outfit England by moving up in the world bowling rankings released on Sunday.

Bangladesh Police AC and Friends Social Welfare Association won their respective matches of the Destiny Dhaka Metropolis 2nd Division Football League at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.

Bayern Munich stayed top of the German league on Saturday as Mario Gomez claimed his 17th goal of the season in a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, but Borussia Dortmund and Schalke are both hard on their heels.

Liverpool knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup but were put on the defensive when the question of racism again raised its head at Anfield. An image of a Liverpool fan appearing to make an offensive monkey gesture was circulated on Twitter, prompting Merseyside police to make an arrest.

Manchester City refused an offer from Liverpool that would have seen unsettled Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez move to Anfield in a straight swap for misfiring Reds striker Andy Carroll, reports said Sunday.

Foreign direct investment in India is set to swell in coming years as investors stomach a lack of transparency, poor infrastructure and policy paralysis in their search for growth, professional services firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) said in a report.

Customers of Top Clean, a mechanised laundry service provider in the city, will now get online updates on whether the delivery of their clothes could be delayed, through a web-based tracking system the cleaner plans to launch next month.

The International Crimes Tribunal will amend Section 54 of its rules of procedure, replacing the word 'documents' with 'manuscripts' in respect of accepting some forms of printed materials relating to the trial of crimes against humanity committed during 1971.

The High Court yesterday ordered the government to investigate within 15 days into allegations of foreign alcoholic drinks worth crores of taka being imported and sold without the tax being paid to the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called upon the teachers of Dhaka University to make its standard of education world class to keep pace with the globe as well as regain the past glory of the university.

The BNP's earlier declared mass-procession programme in the port city yesterday was foiled following an indefinite ban imposed by Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) on all sorts of processions and rallies.

East Delta University and Chittagong Ideal School clinched the respective university and school level championship titles of “The Daily Star-Dristy Brainstorming Business Case-Solving Competition 2012”.

Expressing deep concern over the killing of opposition activists during clashes with law enforcers, two left-leaning organisations yesterday condemned such incidents and demanded punishment of the responsible persons.

Qulkhwani of Jahanara Begum (Ruby), wife of eminent industrialist late Moqbular Rahman of Jalpaiguri, will be held at Concorde Honeydew, House-18, Road-101, Gulshan-2 in the city after Asr prayers on February 3.

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said operationalisation of the country's nuclear power plants with Russian assistance could form an important element in defining bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Russia in the coming years.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a human rights watchdog, yesterday expressed grave concern over the clash between Jatiya Party activists and employees of Rangpur Medical College Hospital on quota allocation in employee recruitment at the hospital.

The newly created Department of Television and Film Studies at Dhaka University (DU) has begun functioning with the appointment of Dr AJM Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan, a Canadian commonwealth scholar, as the chairperson.

Three fishermen were killed while nine others went missing in a fierce gun battle between a group of Indian fishermen and a notorious gang of Sundarbans early Saturday, according to trawler workers in Bagerhat.

Doctors, nurses and employees of Chapainawabganj Adhunik Sadar Hospital yesterday formed human chain and held a rally in front of the hospital demanding punishment to a culprit who beat up an on-duty doctor of emergency department on Saturday.

Eight people, arrested on charge of leaking question papers of recruitment tests for the posts of assistant sub-food inspector and office assistant-cum-computer operator at the food department on Friday, were produced in a court here yesterday.

Police recovered the bloodstained body of a union parishad (UP) member from a beel (a large water body) beside Nolua Tea Garden in Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj district yesterday. The victim, Sonai Miah, 40, is a member of Gazipur union parishad. He had a business at a local market. Quoting family members, Sayed Mahbubur Rahman, officer in-charge of Chunarughat police station, said Sonai went missing since he left the market for his residence on Saturday at about 10:00pm. Later, locals found the body floating on the water body at around 1:00pm and informed the police. The law enforcers then recovered the body and sent it to Habiganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Rivals might have killed the UP member over previous enmity, the OC added.

A schoolboy was electrocuted at Borobil Uttarchar in Ullapara upazila yesterday. The deceased was identified as Anish Sheikh, 14, son of Momtaz Sheikh of Sonatala village in the upazila. Victim's father said Anish went to their crop field in the morning and came in contact with a live electric wire of a power pump. He was rushed to upazila health complex where doctor declared him dead.

A teenage girl allegedly committed suicide over a family feud at Kharibila village in Sadar upazila on Saturday night. The dead was identified as Hasina Khatun, 17, daughter of Sayed Ali Sardar of the village. Aslam Khan, officer in-charge of Sadar police station, said Hasina quarreled with her stepmother at about 11:30pm and killed herself by hanging from the beam of her room. On information, police recovered the body from the spot and sent it to hospital morgue for autopsy, the OC added.

An elderly woman was burnt to death as a fire broke out at a house at Shibnathpukur village in Ranishangkoil upazila on Saturday evening. The deceased was identified as Afula Begum, 75, wife of late Asgar Ali of the village. She had been suffering from paralysis for long. Fire service sources said the fire originated from an oil lamp at the house of Shahid Ali, son of the victim, at about 6:15pm and soon engulfed the adjoining houses. Afula was brunt alive as she could not come out of the house due to her illness. On information, firefighters from Baliadangi upazila headquarters rushed in and extinguished the blaze. They also recovered the charred body of Afula.

District administration, police, Sadar upazila parishad and NGO Samannoy Parishad jointly organised an anti-drug procession and a rally yesterday. They brought out the procession from the upazila parishad premises at around 11:00am and paraded Dhaka-Aricha highway, Shahid Swarani Road, Shahid Rafique Road and Girls' School Road of the district town. People from all walks of life including teachers, students, lawyers, journalists, engineers and doctors joined the procession with festoons ' Say No to Drug'. Later, they held a rally at Manikganj Government Boys' High School playground. Deputy Commissioner Munshi Shahabuddin Ahmed addressed the rally as chief guest.

Letters

No student wing of any political party in Bangladesh has ever got involved in internecine factional clashes with so much obduracy and tenacity as the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). It is widely alleged that BCL leaders are now engaged in rampant extortions in and around campuses. They are shamelessly involved in seat trading in student dormitories, unlawful admissions and recruitments in collusion with the administration! Their lust for money and power is the reason behind the creation of factions, groupings and counter-groupings. Their factional infightings have often resulted in loss of lives. In the latest such bloody infighting a student at the JU was mercilessly beat up and killed.

The traffic management system in Dhaka city must be one of the worst in the world right now. The people behind the wheels don't really want to follow traffic rules and the men wearing the uniforms don't really want to bring the wrongdoers to book when they can make easy money by letting them go. But the prize for breaking rules most outrageously should go to the motorcycle drivers. These bikers don't stop at red lights, don't care about the safety of themselves or others, and the speed limit is none of their concern. They park wherever they want and they ride on footpaths showing utter disrespect to traffic rules. I am not saying there aren't any good and law abiding drivers, but the general picture is really horrible.

Like other sectors, education is controlled by mediocre people. We have employed those people in the universities, colleges and schools who gave highest amount of donation or are affiliated with the ruling party. This system has systematically excluded the good ones from the educational institutions. Most of the teachers in primary and secondary levels follow certain cheap notebooks and do not give marks to the student whose answers do not match with the answers given in those notebooks. Cramming answers from the notebooks have been causing to erode the creativity of the students. Small wonder now we find a few students who can write an essay on their own.

After a fresh protest against the new government, the deputy head of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) resigned recently. We know NTC has been formed with the influential leaders who led the movement against Gaddafi's 42-year rule. Recently many people took to the streets demanding the government's resignation. They even smashed windows and forced their way into the NTC's headquarters, especially in Benghazi. It is learnt from the media report that in Benghazi the protesters are expressing their anger so vehemently that anything like it could be seen since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.

We are astonished by the remarks of Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Awami League general secretary and LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam concerning the torture of a Bangladeshi by Indian border guards. Pranab Mukherjee told the media in Kolkata not to blow it "out of proportion" and Ashraful Islam in Dhaka said his government is not "much worried" about such incidents along the Indo-Bangla border area.

It took many years for the Australian government to apologise "for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' children from their families, their communities and their country." We do not know when the Indian government will stop killing poor Bangladeshis, let alone apologise to us for its continuous disregard to our right to life. It seems that the Western powers will continue to turn a blind eye to India's injustice to Bangladeshis, as the country is their strategic partner in world politics.

This is certainly a good sign that an Indian newspaper has criticised its government for its wrongdoing. We are also grateful to the TV channel which aired the incident and brought BSF's inhumane activities to our notice. They really deserve appreciation for their protest against violation of human rights. Their friendly attitude also proves that Indian civilians' attitude towards us is not the same as that of BSF or the Indian government.

Every year hundreds of thousands of illegal asylum seekers, potential migrants and refugees enter Australia, Italy and many EU countries. But no one has ever been killed by the coast guards. Recently, the Australian opposition leader has called on their naval forces to turn about the boat that comes with illegal asylum seekers from Indonesia. But Australian naval forces denied his proposal saying that safety of human beings comes first. What great country Australia is!

Why is the new minister so concerned about traffic jams, just like his predecessors, when the solution is simple and staring him in the face? All that is required is strict implementation of existing traffic laws. This is my 90th letter on the subject in the last four years containing the full blue print. Unfortunately, neither the government nor the authorities have the will to implement their own laws which are normal in most metropolitan cities.

International

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday called for changes to the military-drafted constitution in her first political trip since ending a boycott of the country's political system last year and announcing plans to run for parliament.

At least 66 people were killed in fighting between Syrian soldiers and rebels over control of Damascus suburbs and other parts of the country yesterday, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of mounting violence.

Taliban negotiators have begun holding preliminary talks with US officials in Qatar on plans for peace negotiations aimed at ending the decade-long war in Afghanistan, a former Taliban official said yesterday.

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on the subject, the Ministry of Defence has written to the Adjutant General's (AG) branch of the Army to correct its record to show the year of birth of Army Chief General VK Singh as 1950 contrary to his stand that he was born one year later.

Bengali composers of yesteryears RC Boral, Pankaj Mullick and Kamal Dasgupta were widely regarded as the founding fathers of Indian film music. To pay homage to these brilliant Calcutta-based composers, the KL Saigal Memorial Circle recently organised a programme, “In memory of Melody Makers of Bengal: Homage to eminent music composers of Bengal”.

Azizul Hakim is the celebrity of the month at DS Café. He will be on the hot seat and take your calls at The Daily Star office on Wednesday, February 1, between 3pm and 4pm. Readers, fire away all your questions at him! The best question will be highlighted in the transcription. Call- 8126155, 01711623915 and 01711623917.

OP-ED

Ostensibly, to avert any kind of law and order situation and for the sake of public security, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is learnt to have clamped Section 144 on any public gathering within the city on January 29 (Sunday). What was the threat to law and order?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is the full name of the great Indian lawyer-politician whom the world knows as Mahatma Gandhi. He was born in Porbandar (otherwise called Sudamapuri) Gujarat, India in 1869 to Karamchand -- alias Kaba Gandhi -- and Putlibai. The family was a Vaishnava one, having very conservative attitude towards many things.